Fire district approves commissioner elections

May 9, 2018

The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District unanimously approved a resolution, which will allow for the election of three commissioners to fill seats on the board. The electable seats are Seat 2 which is currently held by Linda Carter, Seat 3 held by William Liedtke and Seat 5, which was held by Matt Smith.

"The resolution is put together by our legal counsel, Attorney Richard Pringle in an effort to fill our open seats. There are three seats this year. Linda Carter's seat is up and William Liedtke's seat will be up for election as well in November. I'm pretty confident both Linda and William will run for seats come election time," said Chief Robert DiLallo.

The district also closed on a parcel of land located on North Sunshine Boulevard. The property would eventually be the site of another station.

"We are just in the very beginning stages of the process. It takes a good three to four years to get a new fire station off the ground," said DiLallo.

Other items on the agenda were the approval of the fire district's 2016/2017 annual audit, performed by Tuscan & Company, P.A., which was approved by all board members.

Under new business, was a proposed ride time agreement with Ricky Rescue Training Academy.

"The board did not approve the agreement, because we already have quite a few ride times set up with various fire academies," DiLallo said.

The fire district is still actively looking for a contractor to work with both on current and upcoming construction projects.

"Our request for qualification process just ended. We will host a presentation meeting on the May 18 where the contractors can present and show us what they have to offer," said DiLallo.

Under department reports, DiLallo mentioned that this year is turning out to be a pretty busy fire season.

"Currently we are right in the middle of our heaviest dry season. We have had quite a few fires, but are aggressively jumping on the fires and getting them stopped before they get out of control," said DiLallo.

"We have been using our new crash fire truck and it's been working great. It puts out a lot of water and has great reach."

The fire district recommends that residents take precautions throughout the season by following recommendations made by the Florida Forestry Services who gives a list of ways to create a defensible space around their homes.

Florida Forestry Services has a section on its website dedicated to firewise landscaping, which gives homeowners tips on how to create and maintain a defensible space (minimum of 30 feet to 100 - 200 feet) around their home, especially if it borders heavy woodlands.

Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District will hold its next regular monthly meeting on May 29 at 5 p.m. inside fire station 104, at 3102 16th Street SW, Lehigh Acres.